Staff Blog

Not So Small After All

Keegan, Courtney and Sarah all made one small ask to their friends, family members, and colleagues for school supplies and got one big response! A big thank you to these three and all the others who were part of providing school supplies to children in Guatemala through this effort!

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is when he fed 5,000+ people with five loaves and two small fish. What I love about this story is not the miracle itself (albeit pretty amazing), but rather the way Jesus involved his disciples in the process. Upon hearing the disciples express how hungry the crowds were, Jesus gave extremely simple instructions: “Feed them.” When they pointed out the obvious—that they didn’t have the money to feed all those people—Jesus refused to hear their excuses, and instead told them to go find out what they actually had. They cried poverty, but Jesus knew better. Resources were nearby—they simply had to ask. When the disciples returned with a meager meal, Jesus blessed the food and it was enough to feed the thousands upon thousands of people that were there that day. The disciples learned an important lesson that day: when Jesus is involved, one small ask is not so small after all.

This past fall, Christ’s Church Albany organized a school supply drive to benefit VisionTrust children in Guatemala. The ask was a simple one: donate basic school supplies to help provide a better education. Many families and individuals within the church gave generously to the drive, but there were three young women and men who decided to extend the ask into their personal and professional networks as well. The response was incredible! Within a few short months, close to $1500 of supplies were gathered—close to four times the amount the church collected in the previous year.

When we look at the world around us, it is easy to think we don’t have what we need to make an impact. And on our own, our ability to affect change generally is limited in scope. However, when Jesus enters the picture, He has the power to take one small ask and multiply it to beyond what we could ever have imagined. But let’s remember that He doesn’t tend to work alone—we’re invited to come along for the ride. And when we jump onboard, it’s pretty incredible where Jesus can take us and the lives that are blessed in the process.